Illinois Types of Master's in Nutrition Degrees

Masters in Nutrition programs offer students and practicing nutritionists the opportunity to work towards advanced licensure credentials, choose an area of specialization or potentially achieve higher levels of responsibility. If you have a passion for fitness, and a keen interest in the close connection between the science of food, health, and disease prevention, earning a Master of Science in Nutrition degree may prepare you to pursue a variety of career paths in some fast growing fields.

With the increased interest in the role of food in promoting health and preventing diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, the employment of dieticians and nutritionists is projected to grow 21% between 2012 and 2022[i]

Whereas food science is the discipline of study in which the engineering, biological, and physical sciences are used to study food and food processing, nutrition is the science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food. This can include the maintenance, growth, reproduction, health, diet and disease of an organism, both human and animal. Nutrition, food science, and physiology therefore play an important role in wellness.

DID YOU KNOW? The first recorded dietary advice, carved into a Babylonian stone in about 2500 BC cautioned those with pain inside to avoid eating onions for 3 days.

What is a Masters in Nutrition Degree?

A Masters in nutrition may help prepare graduates to pursue careers as nutrition professionals in the pharmaceutical industry, research nutritional biochemistry, educate patients on healthy eating habits, shape public policy, or work to ensure that agriculture is productive and safe. Full-time graduate students may be able to complete a Master of Science in Nutrition degree program in about two years. Prospective students may have earned a

Bachelor of Science in Nutrition degree from an accredited college. Other requirements may vary depending on the program and graduate school.

How do I find a Nutrition Masters Program?

Researching nutrition masters programs on GradSchools.com is easy! You can start with a location search to determine where you can study. Simply use the tabs and enter a popular city, state, or country and results will be generated. Then you can focus on program format. Search for campus programs or choose distance learning. Online nutrition programs may be helpful if you are currently working in the field of nutrition, pharmaceuticals, or health related fields and want to update your technical knowledge and skills. If this is the case, you have potential options to earn your masters degree in nutrition completely online or in a combination format, called hybrid, which is part on-campus.

To pinpoint a degree for your academic and professional goals, you can also look for concentrations within masters in fitness and nutrition degree programs. For instance, you can look into a M.S. in Human Nutrition, M.S. in Food Safety Regulation, Master in Public Health: Nutrition, MS in human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Sports Nutrition and Exercise Science, Food Sciences, or Clinical Nutrition. There are many listings, so browse on and read on!

Potential curriculum in Nutrition Masters Programs

Depending on the concentration, whether you are continuing onto study at the PhD level, the school and program format, some of the courses that students might find in nutrition masters programs can include:

Science of nutrition

Health promotion

Disease, nutrition related diseases

Food Safety regulations

Food production

Public Health

Dietetics

Exercise Science

Biochemistry

Genetics

Clinical nutrition

Potential career paths for graduates with master’s degrees in nutrition

Perhaps you enrolled in the program with a clear sense of where you wanted to pursue your career as a graduate who earned a master’s degree in nutrition, and you concentrated in a particular area. Or, you have a great education in nutrition and are open to different professional avenues. Some of the potential career paths that your master’s in nutrition might prepare you to pursue may include:

Agricultural and Food Scientists work to ensure that agricultural establishments are productive and food is safe[ii]

Agricultural and Food Science Technicians assist food scientist by performing duties such as measuring and analyzing the quality of food and agricultural products[iii]

Dieticians and Nutritionists are experts in food and nutrition. They advise people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve a specific health-related goal[iv]

Health Educators and Community Health Workers teach people about behaviors that promote wellness, and may develop and implement strategies to improve the health of individuals and communities[v]

Medical and Health Services Managers, also called healthcare executives or healthcare administrators, plan, direct and coordinate medical and health services[vi]

Epidemiologists are public health professionals who investigate patterns and causes of disease and injury in humans and seek to reduce the risk of negative health outcomes through research, community education, and health policy[vii]

Occupational Health and Safety Specialists analyze many types of work environments and procedures[viii]

Biochemists and Biophysicists study the chemical and physical principles of living things and of biological processes, such as cell development, growth and heredity[ix]

Ready to pursue a Masters in Nutrition?

Whether you are interested in pursuing a career in educational settings, physicians offices, hospitals, clinics, laboratories, offices, or for the health department, earning a master’s in nutrition could be a wise academic choice. Start looking into the different potential options and program formats on GradSchools.com to find the nutrition masters program that fits your goals!

Illinois Institute of Technology

The objective of the Master of Food Process Engineering degree program is to prepare students for professional practice in food process engineering and to provide a foundation in the fundamental knowledge of this discipline.
The objective of the Mast...

The Department of Food Science and Nutrition offers masters degrees and certificates in food safety, food technology, and food process engineering. With an enrollment of over 170 students, IIT's food science program has a flexible structure that meets t...

The Department of Food Science and Nutrition offers masters degrees and certificates in food safety, food technology, and food process engineering. With an enrollment of over 170 students, IIT's food science program has a flexible structure that meets t...

Northern Illinois University

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

The Department offers graduate research and coursework leading to the master of science and doctor of philosophy degrees in Food Science and in Human Nutrition. In consultation with faculty advisors, students select from a variety of courses in food sci...

Benedictine University

Benedictine University’s online Master of Arts in Nutrition and Wellness program focuses on the interrelationships among food, nutrition and health as well as the development of crucial research professional skills for this growing field.

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